The present invention relates to apparatus for introducing a preselected quantity of soluble fertilizer into a water stream in a fully dissolved state.
One of the problems involved in using chemical or other types of dry fertilizer is dispensing the fertilizer evenly over the area to be fertilized. To this end it has been found desirable that the fertilizer be dissolved in water before it is applied to lawns or plants. The water containing the dissolved fertilizer is then sprinkled or otherwise used to irrigate the plant life and the plants are thereby fertilized as well.
A variety of different types of devices have been developed to dissolve the fertilizer in the water so that it can be sprinkled onto lawns or otherwise dispensed as desired. In most such devices, the fertilizer is merely introduced into a tank of water and agitated to dissolve the fertilizer before sprinkling the water on the plant life. In others, the fertilizer is introduced into a chamber which is incorporated directly into the water stream so that the fertilizer is entrained in the water stream and thereafter dispensed as desired.
In each of the types of devices described above for introducing dry fertilizer into a water stream, the fertilizer is immersed directly into a relatively small quantity of water. The water containing the dissolved fertilizer is only a small portion of the water used for irrigation purposes, and the fertilizer in this water is highly concentrated. If the water containing the dissolved fertilizer is introduced instantaneously into a water stream and dispensed onto plant life, a relatively high concentration of such fertilizer will be dispensed in certain areas, and relatively little fertilizer is dispensed in other areas. Where the high concentration of fertilizer is dispensed, the plants may be damaged by "fertilizer burn", and the plants which receive little or no fertilizer will not receive the benefits of being fertilized.
In an attempt to avoid the instantaneous introduction of concentrated fertilizer mentioned above and the problems associated therewith, various types of systems have been devised to meter the introduction of the water containing the relatively highly concentrated fertilizer into the water stream. However, such devices have been relatively complex and subject to failure, and thus have not achieved wide acceptance in the art.